Dave's guide to Torqueflow

A workshop-floor guide for technicians. This walks you through a typical day using Torqueflow on your tablet or phone - from clocking in first thing to signing off your last job and heading home.

You don’t need to worry about invoicing, customer management, or settings. That’s someone else’s problem. This guide covers your world: jobs, tasks, parts, photos, and time tracking.

Your morning: getting started

Clocking in

You have two ways to clock in, depending on how your garage is set up.

The kiosk (workshop tablet)

Most garages have a shared tablet near the door running the time clock at /time-clock. Find your name card in the grid, tap it, and hit Check In. If your garage uses photo verification, you will be asked to look at the camera first. A green “Checked In!” overlay confirms you are on the clock.

If there are more than 10 people on the team, a search bar appears at the top - just start typing your name.

The header widget (your own device)

If you are already logged into Torqueflow on your phone or tablet, look for the clock icon in the top-right header bar. Tap it, then tap Check In. A toast notification confirms you are clocked in. No photo needed with this method.

Either way, your status updates straight away and the service advisors can see you are in.

For full details on clocking in, breaks, and viewing your time history, see Clocking In and Out with the Time Clock.

Checking your jobs

Once you are clocked in, head to My Jobs. It is the page Torqueflow lands you on by default, and it opens on the Jobs board. You can work on any job in the garage, not only the ones assigned to you, and the record shows who did what.

The dashboard (Home view)

The Home view is a set of colourful tiles giving you a quick snapshot of the day:

Working On (red tile) - shows the job you are currently clocked into, with a running timer. Tap it to jump straight back to that job card.
Ready to Start (green tile) - your next scheduled job. Tap it to clock in and start working. The vehicle needs to be on site before you can start - if it is not, you will see an amber warning.
Today’s Jobs (blue tile) - how many jobs you have today, with a count of how many are left.
This Week (purple tile) - view your schedule for the week ahead.
Parts (orange tile) - quick access to check parts status on your jobs.
Messages (teal tile) - customer messages relevant to your jobs.

Below the tiles, two stat cards show your hours worked today and jobs completed today.

If you have no jobs today but there are upcoming ones later in the week, a “Coming Up” section shows the next few.

Pull to refresh - on your phone or tablet, pull down from the top of the dashboard to refresh everything.

The kanban board (Jobs view)

Jobs is the default view. Tap the toggle in the top-right corner to switch to Home and back. This gives you a kanban-style board showing your appointments as cards, grouped by status. You can toggle between Today and This Week using the date range button.

Tap any job card to open it.

Jobs with no appointment yet live in the backlog at /my-jobs/backlog. Tap Claim on one to take it onto the board. If your role does not include claiming, the backlog is read-only and you see no Claim buttons.

For full details on both views, see Viewing and Working on Your Assigned Jobs.

Working a job

Tap a job from the dashboard or kanban to open its job card. This is where you spend most of your day.

The job card header

The header packs in the essentials at a glance:

Registration plate, make, model, and year of the vehicle.
Customer name and which bay the job is in.
Status badge - Scheduled, In Progress, Awaiting Parts, Quality Check, or Complete.
Vehicle presence indicator - whether the car is checked in, the customer is waiting, or it is not on site yet.
Running timer if you have an active time session on this job.
Workflow buttons - the main actions to progress the job (Start Job, Quality Check, Complete, etc.).

Navigating the tabs

Below the header is a horizontal pill bar with nine tabs. Swipe left and right to see them all:

Tasks - your main working tab. The task checklist.
Parts - parts allocated to this job and whether they have arrived.
Findings - inspection findings with severity ratings and photos.
AI Assist - ask the AI for diagnostic help.
Messages - messages to and from the customer.
Media - all photos and videos for the job.
Vehicle - details like VIN, colour, and engine info, plus the Identification section for Haynes Pro service data.
History - previous service history and findings for this vehicle.
Time - your time log entries for this work order.

Customise your tab order - long-press (hold for half a second) the pill bar to enter edit mode. Drag the tabs into your preferred order, then tap “Done”. Your order is saved and remembered next time.

Identifying the vehicle

Service schedules, technical drawings and OE data need the car identified to its exact manufacturer type. You are the best person to judge that, because you can see the car. Identifying is free.

Open the Vehicle tab and find Identification, or tap Identify on the job’s card on the board.
Tap Identify vehicle for service data, or Re-identify to change it. Re-identifying starts on the current pick, so tap Keep current if it was right.
Pick the variant that matches the car.
Check the summary before you confirm: engine code, fuel, capacity, power, body and build years. A wrong pick gives confidently wrong data.
Tap Confirm identity.

If you see “Not identified for service data yet” and no button, your role cannot identify vehicles. Tap Ask a technician to identify it and a colleague who can will pick it up.

Requests from the front desk

The front desk often has a car in front of them that nobody has identified, sometimes before there is a job for it. They can ask you to do it. Their requests sit at the top of the Jobs board under Open requests, with a note saying where the car is and an On site or Not on site chip.

Tap Identify to do it straight from the request. Pick the variant and tap Confirm identity. The advisor is told it is done.
Tap I’ll do it first if you are heading out to the car, so nobody else goes too. Tap Release if you cannot get to it.
Tap Open vehicle to see the vehicle record, even when there is no job.
Tap More, then Can’t identify it if the car is not there, there are no keys, or Haynes Pro has no match. Pick the reason and tap Confirm, so the advisor knows.

Once you have identified a car, the job card and the vehicle record say “Identified by” with your name.

Capturing the VIN with your phone

A VIN gives Haynes Pro fewer, closer matches when you identify a car. If the vehicle record or work order says the VIN is Not recorded, tap Capture from phone, scan the QR code with your phone and photograph the VIN plate or the V5C. Type the VIN from the photo, or let the AI read it if your garage has that switched on, and tap Save VIN.

Full details: Viewing and working on job cards, Using the My Jobs Dashboard and Capturing a VIN from your phone

Completing tasks

Open the Tasks tab. Tasks are sorted with incomplete safety-critical items first (marked with a shield icon and amber highlight), then other incomplete items, then completed items at the bottom.

Ticking off tasks

Tap the circle icon on one or more tasks to select them. A floating Mark Complete button appears at the bottom.
Tap Mark Complete to finish them all in one go.

Adding notes to a task

Tap the task row itself (not the circle) to open the notes modal. Write your notes, then choose Save (notes only) or Save and Complete (notes plus tick it off).

Adding a new task

Tap + Add Task at the bottom of the task list if you spot something extra that needs doing.

Safety-critical tasks

These are non-negotiable. They are highlighted in amber with a shield icon. You cannot sign off the job or move it to a completion status until every safety-critical task is done.

Recording findings

When you spot something during an inspection - worn brakes, a leaking seal, a dodgy bushing - you need to record it as a finding.

Quick route

Tap the Finding button in the job card header. This opens the finding dialog straight away.

From the Findings tab

Open the Findings tab, then tap Add Finding.

Filling in a finding

Description - what you found, in plain language.
Severity - pick one:
- Safety Critical (red) - must be fixed, it is dangerous.
- Recommended (amber) - should be done soon.
- Optional (green) - nice to have, customer’s choice.
Photos - tap “Take Photo” to use the camera, or “Choose Photo” to pick from existing job photos. You can attach up to 5 photos per finding.
Line items - optionally add parts and labour estimates so the advisor can quote the customer.

Tap Save Finding. Findings are sorted by severity - safety-critical items always appear first. Saving a finding sends nothing to the customer. Your service advisor decides what to tell them.

To edit a finding you created, tap the pencil icon on its card.

Doing a health check

When the job calls for a vehicle health check, you do it on its own page in Torqueflow instead of on the paper sheet. It is built for the tablet in the bay.

Starting one

On the job card, open the Checks tab and tap Start health check. Your garage’s usual template is already picked, so tap Start. Nothing goes to the customer.

If someone has already started a check on this job, the dialog shows it under Already started on this job. Tap Continue to carry on where they left off. The job does not have to be assigned to you.

Working through it

The items are grouped into sections like Brakes and Tyres. Every section starts closed, so tap one to open it. Close all in the header folds them up again. Each item has verdict buttons, worst first:

R (Red): needs attention now.
A (Amber): will need attention later.
G (Green): visually OK.
NC (Not checked): not looked at this time.

Not applicable lives under the … button at the end of the row. On a phone, Not checked is in there too.

Tap G and you are on to the next item. One tap, no confirm. Tap R or A and a notes box opens under the item, so you can say what you found. Notes save themselves a second after you stop typing. Tap Close when you are done.

Tap an item’s name to add a note without giving a verdict. To change a verdict, just tap a different button. To take one off, tap …, then Clear. Undo appears straight away if you need it back.

Next item without a verdict at the bottom of the page takes you to anything you skipped. When you have done them all, it says “Every item has a verdict”.

Saving and the wifi

There is no Save button. Every tap saves on its own. The pill in the header says Saved when everything has gone through. If the wifi drops, it says something like Offline, 3 waiting, and those taps are kept on the tablet and go through when the connection comes back. You can walk away from the page at any time and pick it up later. Nothing is lost and the check stays open.

What it does not do yet

A health check records your verdicts, notes and readings, and who did each one. Type tread and pad readings on the row and your garage’s thresholds suggest the verdict. You still tap to record it. The gauge icon in the header (Measurement pass) takes you through every reading in one go. You can add a photo to any item. When the walk round is done, tap Sign off. The check then becomes a fixed record that nobody can change, and the mileage goes on to the vehicle. Photos are not kept on the tablet if the wifi drops, so wait for Saved before you move on. Nothing is sent to the customer, so for anything that needs a quote, record a finding as well (see above).

For the full walkthrough, see Doing a vehicle health check.

Taking photos and videos

Use the quick-action buttons in the job card header:

Photo - opens your device camera to snap a photo.
Video - opens the camera to record a video.
Finding - opens the finding dialog with photo capture built in.

Everything you capture appears in the Media tab on the job card. Photos are useful for showing the customer what you have found, and they stay attached to the job for the record.

Parts

Open the Parts tab on the job card to see what has been allocated to your job. Each part shows:

Part name and quantity needed.
Status - available, ordered, or awaiting delivery.
Expected delivery date if the part has been ordered.

If the job is flagged as “Awaiting Parts”, the Parts tab badge shows an alert so you know at a glance.

You do not order parts yourself - that is the advisor’s job. But you can see exactly what is coming and when, so you know whether to crack on with something else or wait.

You can also check parts across all your jobs from the Parts tile on the dashboard, which takes you to /my-jobs/parts.

For full details on how parts work in Torqueflow, see Managing Parts, Stock, and Suppliers.

Tracking your time

Torqueflow tracks your time at two levels: your shift (clock in/out for the day) and your job sessions (time on individual work orders).

Job time sessions

When you tap “Clock In & Start” on a job from the dashboard, or use the workflow button to start a job, a time session begins automatically. The running timer appears in the job card header so you can see how long you have been on it.

If you stop working on a job (to take a break, help with something else, or wait for parts), the timer pauses when you clock out of that job.

Breaks

If your garage has break tracking enabled, you can log your breaks from the kiosk:

While clocked in, tap the amber Break button on your kiosk card.
Tap Start Break. Your card changes to amber with a coffee icon.
When you are back, tap your card or the End Break button.

Break time is tracked separately from your working hours. Whether breaks are paid or unpaid depends on your garage’s settings.

Viewing your hours

Go to My Time (in the sidebar) to see your time history. The page shows a table of your clock entries with check-in time, check-out time, and total hours. You can filter by date and expand any row to see the full audit trail.

Progressing and completing a job

Moving a job through statuses

Use the workflow buttons in the job card header to progress the job:

Scheduled to In Progress - the vehicle must be checked in on site first. You can check it in yourself with Check in vehicle, and undo a mistaken check-in from Actions > Vehicle status.
In Progress to Quality Check or Complete - the system warns you if tasks are still incomplete. Safety-critical incomplete tasks block the status change entirely.
Awaiting Parts to In Progress - when the parts arrive and you are ready to carry on.

Signing off

Once all tasks are done, tap the Sign Off button in the Tasks tab.

The sign-off dialog shows:

A summary of task completion (e.g. “8/8 tasks complete”).
A blocker if any safety-critical tasks are still incomplete.
A blocker if the job has already been signed off or cancelled.
An optional notes field for anything you want to add. These notes save to the job and the owner can read them later from the work order detail page.
If you used AI Assist during the job, a quick “Did AI help?” prompt.

Tap Sign Off to confirm. You are taken back to the My Jobs board, ready for the next one. Signing off needs the Sign Off Jobs permission, which technicians have by default.

Signing off does not message the customer. The job goes to the office’s Unbilled list, and they invoice it and let the customer know. Torqueflow stamps the job with your name and the time, so the owner can see exactly who closed it out and when.

Your evening: wrapping up

Clocking out

At the end of the day, clock out the same way you clocked in:

Kiosk: tap your card, then tap Check Out. An orange overlay shows your name, the time, and total hours worked (e.g. “7.50 hours worked”).
Header widget: tap the clock icon, then tap Check Out. A toast confirms you are done.

If you forget to clock out of a job, Torqueflow shows a clock-out reminder after a period of inactivity. Tap it to close out the session.

Tips for getting the most out of Torqueflow

Set your tab order once and forget about it. Put Tasks first, Findings second, Parts third - whatever matches how you work. It saves a surprising amount of time over a week.
Use the pull-to-refresh gesture on the dashboard if things look stale.
Take photos as you go, not at the end. It is much easier to photograph a worn pad while the wheel is off than to try and remember later.
Check the Parts tab before starting a job so you are not halfway through a brake change before discovering the discs have not arrived.
The dashboard stats are motivating - watching your completed jobs tick up through the day is oddly satisfying.

Quick reference

What you want to do	Where to go
Clock in for the day	Kiosk at `/time-clock` or header clock icon
See your jobs	`/my-jobs` (Home or Jobs view)
Open a job card	Tap any job from dashboard or kanban
Complete tasks	Tasks tab - tap circles, then Mark Complete
Record a finding	Finding button in header, or Findings tab
Do a health check	Checks tab on the job card, then Start health check
Take a photo	Photo button in job card header
Check parts status	Parts tab on job card, or Parts tile on dashboard
Log a break	Break button on kiosk card
View your time history	My Time in the sidebar
Sign off a job	Sign Off button in Tasks tab
Clock out	Kiosk card or header clock icon